Chapter Twenty-Seven
The groupings of hazelnuts were sparse at best. When the sun had started to rise, we roused the twins, making our way back through the trees. Aiden and Warner had been hesitant about my plan to follow the nuts, but neither of them had a better option.
After at least half a mile of walking without seeing another cluster, I had begun doubting myself, my eyes crossing from staring so hard at the ground. But finally, we stumbled upon another patch, a perfect circle, just like the last, and I knew it was Mina leading me to them.
The sun was now at its apex in the sky, beating down on us. Stephanie and Lucas were back on the boys’ backs, their bodies tiring quicker with the lack of food and water. When we passed the sixth circle of hazelnuts, I knew we were still on the right track, but I also knew we needed to get there sooner rather than later.
“How are you holding up?” Aiden asked from my side, and I smiled tightly.
“I’m okay. But once we get there, I may sleep for the next week straight.”
He laughed quietly, but the humor faded when he took in my thighs. The stitches weren’t holding well under the strain of walking and blood was trickling down my skin, dotting my shins and shoes.
“Aiden, I’m fine,” I reassured him once more.
He opened his mouth to speak, but Warner hushed us, pausing in his steps. Aiden and I stopped at his back, my ears straining to hear whatever had him stopping. For a few seconds, I heard nothing but the whistling of the leaves in the wind, but then it was there.
The sound was so faint I wasn’t sure how Warner had even heard it, but it was there. The sound of soft voices. I had no way of knowing if it was the others, but the thought alone had my heart racing.
Warner dropped Lucas to his feet, telling him to walk with me, and Aiden did the same with Stephanie. Hand in hand, we walked behind the men, allowing them to take the lead in case it wasn’t someone we knew.
The further we walked, the clearer the voices became. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but it was clear there were multiple people. Aiden and Warner kept a steady pace, but my feet urged me forward, wanting to break out into a sprint that I knew my body couldn’t handle.
Stephanie and Lucas must have picked up on my excitement because they bounced on their toes, their sleepy eyes widening as they started to hear the voices as well. We walked closer and closer and finally, I could make out the voices.
“It’s been three weeks, she would have been here by now if she could have.”
“Would she?”
I recognized the two voices immediately. And I knew they were talking about me. Refusing to stay behind Warner and Aiden any longer, I rushed past them, gripping the twins’ hands in mine. The three of us raced forward, passing a few large trees until another clearing came into view.
I didn’t have a moment to pause before Stephanie was yelling into the air. “Mommy! Mommy!”
Her small hand slipped from mine, her body racing forward into a stunned Elizabeth. Elizabeth’s eyes were round, tears springing in them as she held her daughter tightly in her arms. Lucas slipped from my hold next, racing after his sister and crushing them both with his weight.
My own tears slipped past my eyes as I watched their reunion, realizing I had done it. I had brought them back safely. Giving them a moment to themselves, I glanced at the others.
Emmanuel wasn’t in the area and I already knew that I would lose it once again when he reunited with his family. Mina and Sasha were sitting by the fire, their mouths gaping at our entrance.
Murphy and Rainer were the next ones I spotted. The two of them stood side by side, so familiar and yet so different in the weeks that had kept us apart. Their hair was longer, the scruff on their faces thicker. But it was them.
Murphy was the first to shake off the shock of our appearance, leaving Rainer behind and striding toward me with determined steps. My smile spread as he came closer and then, when there was only an inch of space between us, he gripped my cheeks, slanting his mouth over mine.
His lips were soft yet firm against mine, the kiss chaste yet filled with so much emotion. It hadn’t been the reunion I had been expecting and yet it felt right. The connection was short-lived, Murphy pulling away before I could fully enjoy it.
“How are you here?” He asked.
“What happened to you?” Rainer sounded from behind him and I backed away from Murphy’s touch to take in the two of them.
“I’m pretty sure I have Mina to thank for leading us here,” I responded, glancing at Mina, who was making her way over with Sasha.
Once they were near, the two of them pulled me into an embrace, the three of us squeezing each other hard. When we finally broke apart, I looked to Mina with a knowing grin.
“That hazelnut trick was pretty damn smart.”
Her cheeks flushed at my praise, matching the color of her hair. “I had no clue if it would work.”
“Well, it did.”
The five of us stood in a circle for a few moments, nearly all of us smiling, when suddenly Rainer and Murphy drew their guns. For a second, I was confused until I remembered the two men I had left behind.
Stepping in front of the weapons, I held up my hands. “Calm down. They’re with me.”
Rainer arched a brow, refusing to lower his gun, Murphy holding still as well. “Who the hell are they?”
Turning to face Warner and Aiden, I gestured for them to come forward. “This one here is my brother.” I waved a hand at Warner. “And this is Warner, he helped us escape.”
The four men stared each other down. Aiden was the first to break, smiling at the others. I had told him enough about them that he wasn’t threatened they would harm us. Murphy was the next, dropping his gun and reaching out to shake Aiden’s hand.
Warner and Rainer continued to stare at each other, steel in Rainer’s gaze and indifference in Warner’s. It was a battle of wills and honestly, I wouldn’t even know who to put my money on. At the same time, they both shook off the tension, Rainer lowering his gun and introducing himself.
Breathing a sigh of relief that there wasn’t about to be a fight, a startled gasp broke through the air.
“How?” I turned to see Emmanuel standing at the edge of the clearing, a line of fish in his hand.
The fish didn’t last long, dropping to the ground, and then he was rushing his family, scooping the twins into his arms. The family of four embraced each other tightly, whispering hushed words, and then all of their gazes landed on me.
I shifted under the attention, uncomfortable beneath their grateful gazes. Lucas and Stephanie released their parents, skipping over to me and grabbing me into a hug. Elizabeth and Emmanuel followed their children and then I was a part of the embrace, four turning to five.
“Thank you. Thank you for protecting my babies,” Elizabeth murmured against my head, kissing my hair.
“We will never be able to repay you,” Emmanuel said gruffly, his voice choked with tears.
Pulling away from their hold, I shook my head. “You don’t need to repay me, I promised them I’d bring them back to you.”
Emmanuel looked at his kids once more, not a scrape on them, and smiled so brightly it stunned me. The image was identical to the smile in the headshot Vex had and I realized although they didn’t need to repay me, I had questions I needed to ask.
“I’m hungry,” Lucas loudly announced, his quiet streak vanishing now that he had his parents back.
Everyone laughed at his words, ushering the kids, as well as me and the others, toward the fire for some food and water. I was starving myself and I knew that although I had questions, they could wait a day or two. Everyone deserved a moment to relax, to feel safe for the time being. And as I sat around the fire, scarfing down a piece of deer meat I never thought I’d miss, I realized that for now, I did feel safe.
***
After I stuffed my face with food, my body shut down, sleep pulling me under. It was easier to rest when I knew there were plenty of people awake to keep me safe and I welcomed the slumber, knowing my body needed to recover.
However, I couldn’t sleep for long and I was up a few hours later, the sky dark but the fire still burning. Emmanuel and Elizabeth were in the corner of the clearing, soaking up time with their kids. Aiden was speaking with Murphy, Mina, and Sasha, their laughter muted.
I had no clue where Warner was, but I didn’t worry about him. He knew how to take care of himself. Although, I did begin to worry when I also didn’t spot Rainer.
“What happened to you?” His voice startled me and I rolled my body, sitting up. He was sitting at my back, his gun tucked in his lap and his stare stuck on the dried blood on my legs.
Covering the wounds with my hands as best as I could, I shook my head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
And that was the truth. I hadn’t wanted to talk about it with Aiden, and I didn’t want to talk about it with anyone else. I didn’t want to relive that night.
“I wanted to come after you,” Rainer spoke quietly, his words harsh, as if he hated them as they left his lips.
“You needed to stay here and protect the rest of them.”
Rainer glanced up at me then, so much pain in his midnight blue gaze. He pressed his lips together, his brows furrowing. His mouth opened once, twice, as if he was struggling to say something.
And then, instead of speaking, he did the last thing I would have ever expected, and pulled me tightly into his arms. His face burrowed into my hair, my own finding the crook of his neck. I didn’t know how long the two of us sat there in each other’s embrace, the beat of his heart soothing against mine.
Eventually, he pulled back, turning his head so I couldn’t meet his stare. I knew it was on purpose. That he was hiding whatever he was feeling from me. But that was okay; there were a lot of things all of us were hiding from each other.
“Murphy blames himself,” Rainer spoke, gazing at his best friend. “He fell asleep on watch that night. I haven’t recognized him the past few weeks.”
The statement shocked me and I found myself glancing toward Murphy as well, looking at him with scrutiny. He smiled at something Sasha said, but the grin didn’t encompass his face. It could have been the moonlight, but there was a shadow in his eyes I didn’t recognize.
“I’ve tried to be there for him,” Rainer continued, and I wondered why he was telling me this. Until he turned and finally met my gaze, too many emotions in them for me to pinpoint even one. “But I realized I’m no longer the one he needs. He needed you.”